Chocolate iron bars

Watch how it’s made on Instagram

Chewy pumpkin seed, date and cacao bars under a layer of dark chocolate, flaky sea salt and pistachios. No baking, one food processor, and they taste more like a truffle than a health bar.

• Makes 12 bars

• Prep 15 min

• Chill 1 hour

The recipe

Per bar · 1 of 12

180 kcal · 6 g protein · 3.5 g fibre · 11 g fat · 2.5 mg iron

Ingredients

MetricUS

For the base

• 1¼ cups3 dl roasted pumpkin seeds

• 1¼ cups3 dl pitted dates, Medjool are softest

• 2 tbsp cacao powder

• A pinch sea salt

• ½ tsp vanilla extract, optional

For the topping

• 3.5 oz100 g dark chocolate, 70% or higher

• 2 tbsp pistachios, chopped

• A pinch flaky sea salt

Method

1. Soften the dates
   If your dates are firm, soak them in warm water for 5 to 10 minutes, then drain well. Soft Medjool dates can skip this.

2. Blend the base
   Put the pumpkin seeds, dates, cacao, salt and vanilla in a food processor. Blend until it comes together into a thick, sticky dough that holds when you pinch it.

3. Press it in
   Line a small tin, about 6 × 8 in15 × 20 cm, with parchment paperbaking paper. Press the mixture in firmly and evenly.

4. Add the topping
   Melt the chocolate gently, pour it over the base and spread it out. Scatter over the pistachios and a little flaky salt.

5. Chill and slice
   Chill for about an hour, until the chocolate is firm. Slice into 12 bars with a sharp knife. Warm the knife under hot water if the chocolate cracks.

6. Store
   Keep them in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze them.

Make it yours

Nut free
Swap the pistachios for a few extra chopped pumpkin seeds.

Less sweet
Use 85% chocolate. The dates are still plenty.

Raw pumpkin seeds
Toast them in a dry pan for 3 to 4 minutes first. Roasted seeds give a deeper, nuttier flavour.

Worth knowing

Pumpkin seeds → one of the best plant sources of iron, magnesium and zinc.

Cacao and dark chocolate → more iron than most people expect, about 12 mg per 100 g of 70% chocolate.

Iron → each bar has about 2.5 mg, roughly 15% of the 18 mg a woman needs in a day before menopause. After menopause the need drops to 8 mg.

Absorption → iron from plants is absorbed less well than iron from meat. Eating it with vitamin C, like berries or an orange, helps. Coffee or tea at the same time does the opposite.

Dates → the sweetness and the glue. Still sugar though, about 12 g a bar between the dates and the chocolate.

Keep them in the fridge and try not to eat half the tray while cutting them.

Nutrition is an estimate based on standard ingredient values, rounded. Your brands will vary a little.